Statin After Stroke Cuts Risk of Recurrence

Susan Farley

Published Online: Wednesday, November 1, 2006

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For patients who have had a stroke but
who have no history of coronary heart disease,
a recent study has shown that treatment
with atorvastatin following stroke
can reduce the risk of a recurrence. The
randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled,
multicenter study, known as
Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction
in Cholesterol Levels, included
4731 patients at 205 sites around the
world who had experienced either a
stroke or a transient ischemic attack within
6 months of their inclusion in the study.
The average age of the patient was 63
years, 60% were male, and patients were
followed for an average of 5 years.
Approximately 66% of patients had an
ischemic stroke (sudden blockage of
blood supply to the brain), 30% had a transient
ischemic stroke (known as a "ministroke"),
and 2% had a hemorrhagic
stroke (leaking blood vessel in the brain).
Ninety-four percent of patients were taking
aspirin or clot-reducing medications as
part of their treatment; 69% were being
treated with blood pressure medications.
Researchers randomly assigned patients
to receive either 80 mg/day of atorvastatin
or placebo. Results showed that
atorvastatin reduced the risk of fatal and
nonfatal strokes by 16% when compared
with placebo. According to researchers,
the cholesterol-lowering drug may help
prevent future strokes by lowering lowdensity
lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol,
which is known to increase the risk of
stroke as well as coronary heart disease.
Patients taking atorvastatin had an LDL
level of 73 mg/dL, compared with 129
mg/dL for patients in the placebo group.
The study, funded by Pfizer, appeared in
the August 2006 issue of the NewEngland Journal of Medicine.